Mounting an ARB Bumper and a Warn 8274-50 Winch

by Bob Kolandar

The ARB bumper for the Defender 90 can accommodate the Warn XD9000i and XD10,000 winches without modifications. To mount the 8274-50 you need some additional materials

Tools Needed

- Hammer
- Philips screw driver
- Utility knife
- Socket/Spanner
- Drill
- 1/2" drill bit
- Spray Paint
- Sand Paper
- Soldering Torch (optional)

Materials Needed

- 2 3.5" grade 8 bolts
- 4 3.5" washers
- 2 1.5"x1.5"x6.5"
aluminum blocks
- Quick connect plug kit

Step 1 - Preparing the Bumper

Install the bumper mounted blinkers and associated wiring. First insert the screw stays into their mounting points inset in the bumper. They are a tight fit and might require gentle hammer tapping to seat properly.

Mount the rubber gasket between the lens and the housing of the blinker, insert into the bumper, and attatch with screws provided.

Step 2 - The Roller Fairlead

In order to attach the winch to the bumper, you need to have the bottom mounting bolts go through the roller fairlead. The factory holes are not located properly, so two new holes must be drilled. To do this, fit the roller fairlead tightly into it's mounting location, and, using a marker from the inside of the bumper, mark where the two new holes should be drilled. Drill out using a 1/2" bit.

Remove the clips holding the two vertical (shorter) rollers, and remove the pin that holds the shorter rollers in place. These pins will be replaced by two bolts that attatch the roller to the bumper.

Step 3 - Winch Spacers

Because of the upright stance of the 8274 winch, spacers are needed to push it back from the front of the winch. Two 1.5"x1.5"x6.5" aluminum square bars are used, one on each side. Each bar needs two mounting holes drilled out approximately 4.5 inches apart.

Figure 2-1 shows the winch on it's back, with one aluminum spacer on the right side.

Figure 2-2 shows both spacers in their respective positions.

Step 4 - Mounting the Winch to the Bumper

Set the winch on something about 3' tall, preferably a 25 gallon drum or another sturdy pedastal. Lie the winch on it's back and place the spacers in position (Figure 3-1). Hoist the bumper above the winch and lower into place. Figure 3-2 shows the bumper sitting on top of the winch.

Finger tighten each bolt on the top of the winch and bumper mount.Then slide the roller fairlead into position and finger tighten those bolts. Once all bolts are secure, tighten with a wrench. Then insert the bolts through the roller fairlead mount on the bumper and through the vertical rollers and the roller fairlead itself. Use the bolts and locking nylon nuts and lock washers provided by ARB (Figure 3-3).

Step 5 - Remove OEM Bumper

Remove the 4 bolts holding the factory bumper into place and slide the bumper out of its mounting spot on the frame. There should be two mounting clips still attatched to the bumper - one on each frame rail. You will need these to mount the ARB bumper. They attach in relatively the same spot on the ARB as they did on the factory bumper, and the nuts in the clips should line up with the bolt holes on the ARB bumper.

You should also remove the factory tie down hooks from the underside of the vehicle. The mounting holes for these bolts will be used to help secure the ARB bumper to the frame.

Step 6 - Mounting to the truck

This job should be done with two people, as the weight of the bumper and winch can be upwards of 200lbs. Lift the bumper up and slide it into place on the two frame rails.

Once the Bumper and winch are resting on the frame, look through the frame rail bolt holes and line up the mounting clips with the holes on the top of the bumper. Insert the 4 original bolts (two on each frame rail) and finger tighten. You should leave them loose enough so that the bumper can be moved slightly.

Leaving the bolts slightly loose will help when lining up the bumper with the existing bolt holes underneath the vehicle (where the factory tie downs were located). When bolting through the existing holes, you can also choose to re-attach the factory tie-downs (note - when recovering a vehicle, do not use the factory tie-downs as points of recovery - they are to hold the vehicle in place during shipping only).

Using the ARB bumper as a guide, drill through the frame rail with a 1/2" drill bit to create another bolt hole. De-burr, sand, prime, and paint around your new hole to protect against rust. Install the bolt, nut and lock washers supplied by ARB to mount the bolt into the newly drilled hole.

Repeat for other frame rail

Step 7a - Wiring the Winch - strip the cables

In this instance, quick disconnect plugs were chosen as a simple way to provide power to the winch, and disconnect it when not in use. Because the winch is disconnected from the battery when not in use, it eliminates any chance of it drawing power and draining the battery. It also prevents the winch from shorting out.

To use disconnects, you need to have 2 lengths of 2 gage cable long enough to reach from the winch to the battery - one for the positive terminal (red cable) and one for the negative (black). The cables should have eyelet connectors on each end. Find where you'd like the quick connect plugs to be located. In this example, the plugs were located halfway between the winch and the battery, so the cable was just cut in half.

Strip each of the 4 cable ends that do not have the eyelet connector. Strip them approximately 3/4" - far enough to insert them into the quick connect "prong" or "tine." The prong is the metal piece that fits into the plastic quick disconnect plug housing.

Step 7b - Wiring the Winch - solder the prongs onto the cables

Once the cables have been stripped, they are ready to be soldered. Apply flux to both the cable (which is the male piece in this instance) and the interior or the prong. Insert the cable into the prong and heat with a torch. Once the prong is hot enough apply solder. The prong will accept a fair amount of solder before the connection is solid.

Repeat on the rest of the stripped cable ends.

Step 7c - Wiring the Winch - powering up

Attach a red and a black cable to the winch using the pre-existing eyelet connectors to their corresponding locations on the winch. Run those cables towards the point where they will meet the cables coming from the battery and connect via the quick connects.

PRIOR to attaching the other set of cables to the battery, run them from the battery's location to the point where they will meet the cables coming from the winch. At this point, you can insert the prongs into the plastic quick connect plug housings. Do not plug the quick connect plugs together.

Disconnect the battery. Connect the red cable to the positive terminal and the black cable to the negative terminal while simultaneously reconnecting the battery.

Connect the quick connect plugs. You should now have power to your winch.